loach clicking around surface

[seanodaprawno]

Today after college i bought a yoyo loach and brought it home to my 10g tank which currently has 6 baby killifish in it and a few snails. uptil now i just did water changed every other day and only turn on the filter a few days ago and the water was cristal clear. But when i got home the water is slightly cloudy. The killifish spent most of their time at the surface anyway but the new loach is also at the surface which i didnt think was normal and its making a clicking noise. Ive also noticed there are tiny little wiggly things suspended in the water about a mm in length, although they do not seem to be harming the fish (i read on the internet they may be nemtodes?) any advice on how to clear up the tank and whats wrong with my loach? ive treated the tank for amonia and added stress coat and stress zyme. thank you.

p.s. this sites great, love reading all the info on here

 

[baron1282]

Loaches Click!

I had Clown Loaches and they clicked every time I would feed them. "They make a "click" sound from their teeth/jaw bones" as patryuji put it.

"Another interesting behavior exhibited by the Yo Yo loach, is the clicking sound it makes when feeding on the surface. It does so by swallowing air and forcing it through the gills. " (http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/loaches/p/yoyoloach.htm)

also it should be noted that Loaches love being social with other yo yo loaches. Get two more at least!!! Three is a good social group for them, they will stress easily being alone! So PLEASE get him some some tank mates!!

Also be aware that a loache requires good water conditions and EASILY GET ICK!! I know this first hand, because my Clown Loaches died from ICK. :-( It was a sad loss because my guys loved me and came to the top of the tank to be feed and petted. They would literately let me hand feed them.

I killed my fish because I changed their area on them too quickly. They were getting big and I only had a 29 gallon tank. I didn't read up on them before I made the purchase. Clown Loaches need 125 gallon tank minimal for the a full life. They start out small but get big. That is Clown Loaches but Yo Yo's are related to them. I know Yo Yo's can get up to 6in's, so a 55 gallon tank with good swimming space is minimal.

Also don't freak out if they look dead, they play dead and sleep on their side and swim upside down and all sorts of weird things.

As far as the little wiggly things, I have no clue. Never had Nematodes before.

 

[TommyP]

I have a 3'' bala shark as well and it makes a clicking noise when he eats. 1 or two of my other fish do that as well. It's nothing to worry about!

 

[Rivercats]

Yo-yo's do best in groups but a 10g is too small for one so don't get any more. And as others have said clicking is very normal for loaches.

As for the worms you need to try to post a picture so they can be identified or do some research online and compare pic's until you are sure of what you have. Different worms and other undesirables have different ways that they can be eliiminated. Personally I'd look into them further to really be sure of what you have.

 

[baron1282]

Oh, I didn't see the 10 gallon tank set up. Yeah that is way to small, but easily fixable!! Just go to a store and get a 55 gallon kit. Some websites say a 20 gallon is minimal, but I think 55 is better for them. At least with a kit you get everything all ready to go, and you can upgrade any equipment later. Get it cycled and get some more friends for your loache.

55 Gallon Fish Tank » Top Fin® 55 Gallon Starter Kit | PetSmart

Not the best of equipment, but it's a start and you can upgrade equipment later.

 

[seanodaprawno]

i had no idea they grew to 6 inches! they were advertised as 8 cm (3 inches). i cant afford to set up a massive 55g tank so i think my only option is to sell the poor thing as i cant provide the right home for him let alone two more which sucks because i have a massive snail infestation and he's great to watch.
thanks for all the help anyway.

 

[baron1282]

While I commend you on you wanting to take your little guy back, I wouldn't. He should be ok for a while in your ten gallon tank for a little while. I read up on them, and a lot of websites say they need a 20 gallon tank minimal to live out a full life. If I was in your shoes I wouldn't take him back. I would go ahead and buy a 29 gallon start up kit from Pet Smart and transfer him on over AFTER you cycle the tank fully.

Your looking at $150 for the set up. The kit does not come with rocks or decorations. You can transfer all the decorations from the 10 gallon so that should save you money. Also if you take out some of your rocks from the 10 gallon and put them in the bigger, that will help transfer good bacteria from your old tank to the new. Again a Kit is fine and dandy but the equipment will not be that great. I never had a problem with 90% of the equipment the kits come with, mostly the filter is the upgrade you will need some day.

Also, in case you didn't know. Get a cut out sponge for your 10 gallon tank filter and use that to grow good Bacteria on. You will never throw away that sponge and the only thing you do with it is take it out and rinse it off of all the big stuff in the old tank water you have just taken out of the tank when doing a water change. Don't squeeze the sponge just kind of put it in the water and swish it around a bit to get the big stuff off, but it back into the filter. You can still use the carbon filters, but the sponge should be behind it keeping a good bacteria colony on it. You can also seed another sponge before you get the bigger tank. Transfer that seeded sponge to the new tank filter. Set up the new tank and throw a fully uncooked dead shrimp in their. It should take about three weeks for the tank to be ready. Test the water first as it might take longer. this will help establish and feed the good bacteria you transfer over to your new tank. Once you tested the water and there is 0 ammonia do a 90% water change to bring down nitrates. Test the water again and make sure everything is good for the fish. Than it's just a matter of adding the fish over the course of a few weeks to not sock the bio-load of the new tank.

Your in college so I take it you have a small space you can use for your tank to work with. It's definitely a good idea to get some friends for your loache. If you can't and you feel like you need to part with him, I am sorry. I hope you can find a way to keep him and get some more for him. They are really cool fish!!

The only reason I suggest a 29 gallon kit vs. the 20 gallon kit is because it's basically the same price, and 9 extra gallons can't hurt. You could get a 20 gallon LONG tank, that will provide more swimming length for the fish, but will not give you more height. The other problem with a 20 gallon LONG tank is their is no kits for them. The kits come with the light, filter, heater, water conditioner (which only means it helps with tap water to make it safe for the fish, it does not cycle the tank). If you look around you can find 29 gallon kits for as low as 70 dollars!! Good luck and I hope you can save the money and have to space to have two tanks for a little while. It should take 2 months to fully get your fish to the bigger tank.

Also make sure you read up on tank cycling. What I have suggested is just a rough draft. There is articles on this website that will tell you how to cycle your tank.

 

[seanodaprawno]

im from the UK and i just realised there is a big difference between us gallons and the ones we use in the uk. so ive looked around and i could easily set up a 25-30 gallon tank which is great (so long as a second hand tank but new equipment is okay) because im really loving the little guy. thank you so much for the help baron, im so glad i can keep him but i wont get him any friends until i have the new tank set up.

 

[baron1282]

im from the UK and i just realised there is a big difference between us gallons and the ones we use in the uk. so ive looked around and i could easily set up a 25-30 gallon tank which is great (so long as a second hand tank but new equipment is okay) because im really loving the little guy. thank you so much for the help baron, im so glad i can keep him but i wont get him any friends until i have the new tank set up.

Do they just use liters are they different sizes? As far as the tank goes, they don't have tank kits that includes everything you need to start up? I know in the US we got 29 gallon kits starting at $100 US dollars. That might be a cheaper way to start out, and just upgrade the equipment later. Good luck, and remember the little guy should be ok, but not for too long!

 

[Rivercats]

Another way you can help get rid of snails is to either get a couple assissin snails or my preference is to trap them. You can get some leafy lettuce, run a leaf under really hot water until it softens and place it in the tank at night. Then remove snails as they collect on the lettuce to eat. There are also alot of DIY snail traps you can make if your handy. Also remember that loaches have to learn how to get snails out of their shells and eat them. Some are better than others. I have three and it took one figuring it out how to do it before the others caught on.

UK or Imperial gallons are about 3% larger than our US gallons.

 

[seanodaprawno]

i guess these kits are alot more over here as the cheapest non second hand kit thats big enough would be about £150 but a second hand one would be about £50. also its 10 us gallons to 8 imperial/uk gallons.

 

[seanodaprawno]

just found him dead upside down in the tank no idea what went wrong, my other fish are perfectly fine.

 

[baron1282]

Wow man, I am sorry to hear that. :-( Like I said Loaches get stressed easily, especially if not in a group. Also they are no good with tank conditions. They are scaleless fish and bad water quality can easily effect them.

How long has your tank been set up? If you have a test kit, test the water and post results. That will help the users on this board tell you what went wrong. You might have shocked the bio-load in your tank by adding a new fish. A lot of things can go wrong, but some fish are not as hardy as some. So your other fish might look fine, but they could be suffering. So test your water, and post the results!! A picture of the tank can help too.

I am sorry for the loss, it sucks when this happens. Don't give up on Loaches, they are really cool fish!! They just need very good water conditions and friends!!

 

[seanodaprawno]

i'll try and pick up a water testing kit, although i think i have one somewhere. thanks for all the help, too bad it was in vain. gorgeous little fish so i'll defo try them again when i get a bigger tank but for now i think i will just focus on my killies. feeling pretty guilty right now.

 

[seanodaprawno]

ph= 7
KH=6*d
GH=>10*d
NO2= less then 1mg/l
NO3= 0

 

[baron1282]

ph= 7
KH=6*d
GH=>10*d
NO2= less then 1mg/l
NO3= 0

What about Ammonia? Hate to make you run out and get another kit, but it needs to test Ammonia.

 

[baron1282]

I think from that info, it looks fine but your Ammonia might be really high. I wouldn't know without a kit that test for ammonia. Do a 10% water change today or tomorrow. You should be changing the water about every week. At least 10% of the water. Also get that sponge and get a good colony of bacteria growing on that. Just put it in the filter media and take it out every water change and swish it around in the water you just took out of your tank. Don't squeeze just let the big staff fall off, and put back in the filter. Hope this has helped a little.

 

[Cynic]

Actually a lack of NitrAte, a minute amount of nitrIte screams uncycled and likely high ammonia which will most likely attribute for your loss

 

[baron1282]

That's what I was thinking. I think his Ammonia is high.

How long have you had the tank set up?